Timeless
by GaleLover8
Summary: Rose Mellark is Katniss's daughter, and also her polar opposite. Opposites attract, right? So that's how she meets Ryan Hawthorne. Please don't judge before reading ALL of the chapters so far. All rights of THG and CF and M to Suzanne Collins.
1. Gorgeous

**Here I go. Wish me luck! :D**

_My name is Rose Mellark. I am fifteen years old, and I'm exactly where I want to be. I am as alive as ever!_

I twirled under the bright red lights, my hair slapping my face. Cheers and applause could be heard all over the hall, and I love it. Because I love it when people cheer for me or say something good about me; it makes me feel like I'm important, yet it doesn't higher my self-importance.

My bright green dress suddenly started to catch a little heat - and soon after, a brilliant blue flame arose. I was a vibrant mockingjay.

The crowd began to go wild. It was maddening and I was ecstatic. This was truly the best night of my life - I was doing my favorite thing in the world, dancing in front of an audience, in my favorite place, the newly refurbished Hall of Occasions in District 12, all dressed up - my favorite way to look.

Plus, there was a crowd of about a thousand cheering for me. Nothing could be better...or so I thought.

At once, just in a moment, my cheeks started to burn horribly, and I knew it wasn't from the fake fire. I felt nauseous and vomit came up to my throat, threatening to overflow. All the colored lights became hazy, and I saw my mother fly over the crowd. Oh wait...was that Daddy? Maybe it was an elephant - oh, I don't know, I just remembered blacking out.

*a few hours later*

"Rose...Rose?" An anteater was peering at me through my mask. Wait a second, that couldn't be an anteater! Anteaters don't talk. It was then I realized that my whole family was sitting around my hospital bed, and my brother Amore was giving me a weird look. What was I doing in a hospital bed?

"What's the date, honey?" a doctor walking up with a clipboard, asked.

"Um..." I searched my head. Yesterday was my birthday which meant it was the fourth of June, and today was the day after yesterday, so it had to be the fifth. "The fifth of June?" I said hesitantly.

"Yes, her memory is fine," the doctor smiled at my family. "Just rest a little, honey," she said to me, giving me a pointed look.

June fifth? That was my big performance day! What had happened? Had I ever gone to the performance? I was seriously confused at the moment.

"You fainted," Amore explained gruffly. Underneath all that gruffness, I could tell he was concerned.

"Katniss," Daddy shook my mother, who had fallen asleep on his lap. "She's awake. How are you, sweetie?" he asked me, wide-eyed. His breathing was getting shallow, and I figured out my family could die worrying about me.

I gave a light-hearted laugh. "I'm fine, Mom, Daddy..."

My mom looked as if I was on my deathbed. "Rose are you okay? You just...you just fainted! And everyone stopped, people began frantically running around, and you...you just _fell_!" she started choking on her breath. Her throat always closes up when she's she's upset. I take after my mom.

"Hey Mom, I promise I'm okay! I mean, seriously, I can walk!" I assured her. Groaning, I edged myself off of the bed and started walking (more like _stumbling_) towards the door. My dad came in front of me and ordered me to stop, but he let me go when I told him I needed to go to the bathroom. Actually, I needed some serious fresh air; who knows how long I'd been in that tiny room.

The gust of air that hit my face was my savior - I was hyperventilating inside that room. I walked slowly, smiling at everyone until I realized that I didn't recognize anybody.

"Where am I?" I asked a lady in a pink uniform who looked nice enough. "Oh, you're in 4," she said sweetly. "This is the best hospital in all of Panem. I hope you're enjoying your stay so far!"

"Uhhum...yeah...yeah I am..." I coughed. _Enjoy my stay? Well, this _is _better than District 12's hospital_, I thought scornfully. I was supposed to be performing, not be stuck in this hospital! What had happened to me, anyway? Wasn't 12's hospital able to "cure" me?

As I walked along the hallway, I thought about my parents and the hardships they had suffered. Heck, they had to be in a game where everyone killed each other and I am extremely lucky that both of them made it out! I wonder what my mother Katniss had been like when she was my age. Did she like dancing, and singing? I realized that I barely knew anything about my mother. The sparse information I could sum up included the thing about the Hunger Games, how she met my father, and that she liked to hunt. I also knew about some of her friends - Finnick (who had died), Annie, Madge (also dead), Cinna (her late stylist), Greasy Sae, Delly, the latter two alive. Those were her friends from way back before. I'd also heard another name a couple of times, someone named Gale, but I didn't know much about him - at least as much as I knew about her other friends. In fact, Mom looked seriously uncomfortable the two or three times his name was mentioned. I wondered who he was.

His name was mentioned on TV a couple of times. Even though we had a TV, we almost never turned it on. Every time we did, something would be there about the Mockingjay and my mom would just get another one of her usual headaches, and my dad would get some kind of an...attack and Amore and I would have to help him stand back up again.

There was also something about Gale Hawthorne that appeared on TV every time we turned it on. My mom pretended to never notice that his name was ever mentioned. Yeah, my whole family saw right through that lame attempt of innocence.

When I was really young, news reporters would come to our door at least once a week, and my parents would just chase them away. After Amore turned one they stopped bothering us. Now they come only about twice a year. Everyone at school seemed to be jealous of me, and they say it's because I always get to be on TV. Trust me, it really wasn't that great. In fact, it was really annoying. The only person I knew didn't care was Haymitch, our neighbor, who got drunk every day. He mostly just threw his beer bottles at the camera men when they came knocking at his door.

Of course, thinking makes me lose control, so I bumped into someone. As I turned around to say sorry, my words got caught in my throat. My word - he was_gorgeous_. About seventeen, with straight black hair, a tall and muscular stature, and the most handsome face I'd ever seen.

"I'm really very sorry..." I choked out, embarrassed to know that was viewing me in a hospital gown, whoever he was.

"No, it's okay," he said quietly, and gave me this incredible grin that I knew I'd never forget.

_No, Rose, NO! _my mind screamed. _You do NOT believe in love at first sight! _I agreed with my mind. I'd probably never see him again.

**So how was that? Continue or not?**

**Thanks a ton! -Gale (I'm a girl, it's just my nickname :P) **


	2. Surprise

**Omg. Thanks for the reviews everyone! Here's the next chapter.**

I walked back to my hospital room a little downcast. My mother came out and ushered me back in, quickly.

"You stay right here, Rose. See, Peeta? The hospital room made her feel nauseous! Are you okay, honey?" Mom's eyebrows were knitted in concern.

"I'm _fine_, mom, I promise!" I laughed. My dad came up to me and grinned. "We have a survivor here, Katniss! Look at our baby girl, all grown up and surviving pain worse than we did when we were her age!"

I saw my mom swallow, and I rolled my eyes. "Of course, Dad, whatever you want to believe just go ahead. Of course, I've already survived, like, what? Five Hunger Games?" This made Amore burst out laughing, while the rest of us shook our heads in mock dismay. I have so much fun with my family.

"All right Rose, they say you'll get out tomorrow, but since you'll barely be able to walk, we're staying here in 4 for a week or two. I'm sorry that it's so hard on you, we don't know what's going on, think of it as a vacation - " my mother started another one of her long speeches.

"It's okay," I interrupted her. Okay? I was feeling FANTASTIC! Now maybe I could finally get some fresh air outside 12, in which I've been my whole life, and experience more of Panem. Plus, maybe there was a chance of *cough*... "Yeah, I'm good staying here. It'll be fine, I'm fine with it, I mean." I tried not to sound too happy. Amore always questions my happiness; it's annoying.

"Why are you so happy?" Amore asked, right on cue. I had failed trying to look neutral.

"Because!" I replied. "I'm just excited to be in a new District. Yeah, that's it!" I nod confidently, happy with the smart answer I'd just come up with.

"Okay," he said, not too sure. I snickered at his expression, and my parents gave me hugs and stood up. "So Rose, we're going to stay at the hotel right next to this hospital, it's walking distance. Please don't leave your hospital room, _please_," Mom begged. "We're going to stay there tonight because none of us are allowed to stay here with you. You have your phone, right?"

"Yeah, it's right here in my pocket," I answered.

"Stay in your room, sweetie," Dad told me. "We'll be back in the morning. Call if you need anything."

I nodded my head, and they walked out the door giving me one last loving look. What a family. You gotta love them.

Of course, the moment they left, I knew I had to get out of this room that I was literally hyperventilating in. How could I stay in this room when I had to go to the bathroom, anyways? That would be my excuse if my parents found out about my comings and goings while they were gone.

Sighing, I took off my hospital gown and slipped into my normal clothes. I pushed open the door and stumbled outside, the glaring lights making me squint. Just then, that doctor who had been in before to check on me found me standing outside in my regular clothes...looking as fine as ever.

"Are you _crazy_?" she said fervently, leading me back into my room. "Sweetheart, they couldn't get you to awaken in 12 so you had to be sent here! We have to keep you conscious! Don't leave this room, okay? If you want to go to the bathroom, you have to go accompanied. And put on your hospital gown." With that, she closed the door.

I groaned. This was going to be a long night.

*the next morning*

Yawning and stretching, I slowly elevated myself from the hospital bed (which creaked threateningly) and managed to stand on two feet. I had somehow survived the night, and now I would finally get released from this hospital. I wondered what I should rate this hospital in the coming survey. I'd probably give it a four-out-of-five or something. Everything was fresh and clean. Problem? The size of the room I was in. Seriously.

I whipped my cell phone out of my pocket and called my mother.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom, should I go down there?"

"Rose! No, wait in your room and I'll come and pick you up. You'll need a wheelchair to the hotel."

I sighed. "Mom, if I could walk to the bathroom by myself, I can walk to the hotel. Now come quick!"

"Don't argue, Rose," Mom snapped. "I'm coming with a wheelchair. Bye."

I shook my head, and slid my phone shut.

In about an hour, Mom came in and started grabbing all my stuff.

"Well hi to you too," I said, laughing at her intensity.

"No time to talk, Rose," she said breathing heavily. "We gotta pack everything up because visiting hours ends in like five minutes. If I don't pack your stuff for you, they're going to kick me out and then you have to go down there by yourself."

"Okay, ma'am," I smirked, and walked in my slow pace to the door. I sat down in the wheelchair and waited patiently for Mom to come and push me to the first floor. Then she had to go through a bunch of paperwork while I sat there feeling helpless and stupid.

"Phew! We're done," she said, relieved, and helped me into a waiting taxi outside the hospital. The taxi drove us to a small, teal-colored building not even a half a mile from the hospital. We used the elevator and went up to the third floor, and Mom wheeled me to our room. More like our suite. The room was huge! Not like the claustrophobic one I had to stay inside.

"Okay, I'm going out for fresh air," I yelled behind my back, walking to the door.

My mother only sighed and shook her head.

"It's okay, I can walk fine," I laughed. "I have my phone with me. I'll be back in an hour, probably."

"It's okay," Dad said, coming up to me and giving me a hug. "As long as you're back by noon."

I smiled at him. "Thanks so much, Dad! Yes, I'll definitely be back by then."

"And answer my calls," Mom warned me. I nodded again and walked out the door.

Walking along the streets of 4 was well...interesting. It was definitely not 12; it was a thousand times more urban. Cars were everywhere, and I didn't see a single Hob or market; only humongous malls and such. I entered a store and carefully scrutinized all the dresses on the racks. They were all too..._formal_, I thought to myself. You could never find something like this in 12.

Someone behind me cleared his throat. I turned around and it was..._him_.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"OH! Hi!" I almost yelled. "It's _you_!"

"Yeah...it's me," he laughed. I got the feeling that he didn't talk very much. "So what's your name? You look like nice person, and I don't know anyone in 4 right now..."

"Oh right, how stupid of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Rose," I said sweetly. "What're you called?"

"I'm Ryan...Ryan Hawthorne," he smiled.

"Hawthorne?" I searched my brain. I knew I'd heard that last name before. On TV. Oh well, it must've been a very common last name. "You know, people talk about a Gale Hawthorne or something on TV all the time. Is that your dad or something?" I asked him, knowing there were too many Hawthornes in this world for him to say that as a matter of fact it _is _his dad.

"Actually, you're right," he smiled. "That's my dad. Gale Hawthorne."

My mouth dropped open.

**Reviews are loved. Love! -Gale**


	3. Secrets

**Thankies for the reviews and alerting and favoriting!**

I still couldn't get the fact straight in my mind. Ryan Hawthorne was...Gale Hawthorne's son? The man who my parents had barely ever spoken a word about?_That_Gale Hawthorne? I had to do my best to not let my bottom lip touch the ground. Ryan was...Gale's son. I was right.

Meanwhile, the young man was looking at me with a confused look on his face.

"Rose?" he asked in a quiet voice, touching my arm. "Rose, are you okay?"

My arm tingled and got electrified in the place where our skin made contact, and that was what jolted me back into the present. "UH? Oh, uh, yes, I'm fine, Ryan Hawhorne...*cough*...Hawthorne...thanks," I stammered.

He moved his hand back, and nodded. "Okay," he said, unsure. "Well...what are you doing here, anyway, Rose?"

"Oh, I just fainted during a dance performance because of low _something _in my body, I guess," I said, relieved for the change of subject.

"That's terrible!" Ryan said seriously. "Are you all right now?"

"Yeah, I'm much better, thanks," I smiled. "I actually came out to get some fresh air. I've NEVER been outside my District before, have you?"

"You haven't?" he looked mildly shocked, yet I could tell that this boy could keep his feelings under control. "I have, multiple times. I live in 7, but I've come to 4 a lot because my aunt Posy works here at the hospital. Which District do you come from?"

I knew that I couldn't reveal any more about myself because I had the feeling that something would go wrong if I did. Maybe he wouldn't want to talk to me anymore if he knew I was Katniss Everdeen-Mellark's daughter.

"I'm from...uh...Ten," I lied. "It's really cold there, so we don't go out much. Well my parents do, but I don't." I gave him my most charming smile to affirm my brilliant untruth.

"Oh, I see," he said brightly, obviously falling for it. I felt really bad, but I really didn't want to give up any more information. "So this might sound a bit weird, but with a pretty name like Rose, one might wonder what your last name is...?" he asked, trailing off.

"Oh that's right, how stupid of me!" I smacked my head. "My last name is..."

But then I remembered that if I told him my last name, who knows what might happen.

"It's Mel...on?" I said, more in a whisper. "OH NO...I mean...I mean...Melton, yes, Melton," I smiling sheepishly.

"Melon? I love it!" Ryan laughed. I realized how wonderful I thought his laugh was.

"Ha ha, very funny. It's MelTON. With a T," I said, grinning.

"Rose Melon," he said, ignoring my comments. "That would be an awesome nickname."

"Oh all right fine whatever you say," I said rolling my eyes, giving in. "You can call me whatever the heck you want, Ryan."

He laughed again, and my happiness just went to a whole new level. _NO! _my mind scolded me. _STOP! Rose! You can't do this! He's GALE'S son, for god's sake!_

"So...Rose...I kind of have to go home now, but I hope I'll see you around? I'm staying at that hotel right over there with my family for the next couple of weeks. Maybe we can hang sometime...or something," he barely said this above a whisper.

I, of course, was never fazed by what my conscience told me. "Well, I'd love to see you here some time! I'm staying in that hotel, too. I think...I think we can definitely hang...and stuff. I hope to see you soon!" I waved at him as he smiled one last time and left.

Not even Amore could question the intense happiness on my face all through that day.

**Me always accepts constructive criticism. xoxo**


	4. Question

**Oh, Rose. You're so immature. Let's go.**

I waited seconds, minutes, hours, _days _for a chance to see him again. However, as time progressed, I realized that maybe I was wanting too much...from Gale Hawthorne's SON? Let's make that GALE HAWTHORNE'S son?

I knew I should be more careful...not that I had given away much truth about myself. Ryan seemed sweet, maybe as a friend. I could tell from the outside that he was an extremely likable person, and that he had lots and lots of friends even though he had a quiet personality. I bet girls fell in love with him at first sight; I really wouldn't be surprised if they did - it had almost happened to me.

_Almost_.

And I was also confused about his father, Gale. How come my mother had felt so awkward and had changed the subject whenever Gale was mentioned - who was he? How had he known my mother? Why did she not want to EVER talk about him? Maybe he had broken her heart, and she just didn't want a reminder of that in her life anymore. If Gale was a heart-breaker, would Ryan be one, too? I knew that I could not be so foolish and carefree as I was being, especially if Gale was some kind of a heart-breaker. I realized that I was genuinely curious about this man, and what had been going on between him and my mother. And why...Dad got that kind of annoyed look on his face if his name was ever mentioned.

Being the nosy one as I was, I didn't wait a minute to rush over to Mom to ask her about Gale. Mom was chopping onions and wiping her eyes with her sleeve; I gave her a tissue, which put her into a good mood. For the time being.

"Mom," I said, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her, "Who's Gale Hawthorne?"

I got the reaction from her that I had expected; she immediately became rigid and started chopping onions at high speed.

"Why do you want to know, honey? Does it concern you?" she shot back, somewhat stiffly.

_Kinda..._I wanted to say, but I knew better. "No, but I notice how you...uh...react if his name is mentioned. Tell me the truth," I said intensely. "Who is he?"

Unfortunately, I'd said something wrong. My mother's face changed from uncomfortable to angry. "Look," she stormed. "He was nothing, and he never will be anything. Just forget I ever said anything, _ever_, okay? Just forget it. NOTHING HAPPENED, at least that you need to know of." She said this last part in a whisper that I wasn't supposed to hear, but I'd heard it anyway.

"What do I need to know of, Mom? You can tell me, you know I'll keep it a secret," I insisted. Again, it was the wrong thing to do.

Mom was silently fuming. "Rose. Get. Out. Of. The. Room. Right. NOW." Then I had to leave, because she could shoot me with a bow and arrow if I didn't exit the kitchen at that instant. Literally.

But I was still stubborn. I _needed _to know who this Gale was, and what he had done that Mom felt so terrible about.

And right now, all I wanted was Ryan Hawthorne as a friend so that I could squeeze more information out of him to get to Gale. I felt really bad as I thought of this, because I felt I was just using him, but I was greedy for information about Gale Hawthorne.

So to execute my plan, I sat all day in the lobby of the hotel, reading a stack of Harry Potters. Unfortunately for me, all the names of the guys seemed to change and float around as I was reading. Harry..._Ryan_. Malfoy..._Ryan_. Voldemort..._Ryan_. Angrily, I shook my head to get rid of these stupid thoughts. All Ryan would be needed for was collecting information about Gale.

The bell on the doorknob rang, and guess who walked in through that door.

"HI, Ryan!" I said, falsely surprised, as he smiled and came over to me.

"What's up, Rose?" he asked. "Oh, you like Harry Potter? Same here, I - "

"Hey, uh, Ryan? I think your dad...on TV...is really cool. Where does he live again? Sorry, I don't watch much TV." I felt bad about interrupting him, but I really needed to dissect his brain.

Ryan gave me a half-confused look that I nearly laughed out loud at. "District 2? I think the reporters say it all the time. You should be paying more attention," he teased.

I grinned. "Well, I don't have much _time _to watch TV. And I thought you lived in District 7?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "I go to a boarding school there. You know Panem Academy? It's the best school in all of Panem, and my parents wanted me to go there so badly, I just had to apply. And...I passed," he added, blushing.

I wasn't completely oblivious to my surroundings, however. I knew that you had to be a brilliant, completely perfect combo to get into that school. They only accepted five thousand of the millions of applications turned in. "Wow, you must be really smart!" I said in admiration. "So, uh...what does your dad do? I mean, I haven't watched TV for a while, so..."

Ryan gave me a half-smile. "Well, he's an accountant. He sits behind a desk all day and does pretty much nothing else. Sometimes he goes hunting in the tiny woods outside our house, he says that it's his 'home away from home'. I never actually figured out why he says that."

At that moment, I knew I was getting somewhere. Katniss Everdeen-Mellark always went to the woods. And she always told us that it was her second home.

**Reviews? Me will love you. Gale**


	5. Answer

**Thanks once again for the reviews, etc(:**

"Are you serious?" I said, as if I was astonished beyond words. "He goes to the _woods_? I mean out of all the places - "

"I know, I know, he just - " Ryan cut me off, and then his cheeks turned red. "Oh I'm sorry, what were you going to say?"

"Oh, nothing, it's okay, just go on..." I trailed off. Awkward silence. "Uh..." I started. "So...what does he do behind a desk all day?"

Ryan seemed relieved at the change of topic. "Oh, not much. He comes home from work exhausted every day, and then only works and works and goes to bed at two in the morning, every day. At least, he does when I go to visit my parents during breaks. I know because I always wake up when he comes down the hallway. I'm a light sleeper," he explained.

"I see," I said, interested. "I think he should get more sleep. Is he cranky?"

"Actually no," he said, raising his eyebrows. "He's actually a really cool parent; he's always there for me when he's there at all, and he tries to help me as much as possible on the humongous projects I have every break. He says so many times that he wishes he didn't have his job, but we do need the money for my student fees; they're really high."

"I can imagine. After all, you're so brilliant," I rolled my eyes, but I smiled at him.

Ryan blushed again. I couldn't help thinking how cute he is when he's embarrassed. "Haha...no," he laughed. "I'm not brilliant, I just somehow got into that school. I seriously sometimes have a hard time in my classes."

"Right," I said, dragging the word. "As if. Anyways, are you going to see your dad anytime soon? He sounds so cool, I really want to meet him!"

"You do?" he asked skeptically, and then grinned. "I'm sorry, no one's ever said that before. You're the first person that's actually understood that he does have another side to him...he's not just the 'hot businessman who sits behind a desk' in District 2, according to most females."

"Well, I _am _the only person you've told about the woods, right?" I said.

"How did you know that?" he looked at me, confused.

"I know a lot of things," I said, closing my eyes and relaxing against the back of the sofa. I opened one eye, and saw him smiling and shaking his head. "Hey, you're not the only smart one around here," I said indignantly. I got just the reaction I'd wanted.

"No, no, you're smart, Rose, you seem like a very smart person," Ryan assured me, and I beamed.

"Thanks. But is your dad coming soon?" I got back down to business.

"Yeah, he's coming next week to see me and my Aunt Posy. Just for a couple of days, though. I can introduce you to him then."

"Thanks so much, Ryan!" I almost screamed in joy. I was on the rainbow, and in just one more week I'd reach my pot of gold.

"No problem," he looked slightly amused. "Well, it was nice talking to you. You know...I should probably go get lunch..."

"That's right, I should be getting up now, too," I said, remembering that my family was probably waiting for me. "You cannot imagine how thankful I am, Ryan, to you. You helped me so much!" I gushed.

"On what...?" he asked, obviously befuddled now. I ignored him, just waved, and flew upstairs. It was just my little secret.

I banged open the door. "MOM, DAD, I'M BACK!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"My goodness, you sound like you won the lottery, Rosie!" my dad laughed. "What's the happiness about?"

"Nothing," I lied, but I had a warm feeling in my body, the feeling you get when you find something you've been looking for. The warmth was also a mixture of something else, something I couldn't exactly identify...

I rushed off to the room that Amore and I was sharing in our suite, and jumped on the bed and started daydreaming about what would happen in a week. I was, of course, a reckless and daring person so I knew that on one day next week, Mom would meet the one person she feared thinking about most.

**Mhmhmhmhmmmm. (My cackle with a cookie in my mouth...) Reviews! Gale**


	6. Thoughts

**Mistakes have been fixed!**

_"Gale?" Mom shrieked. "Is that really you?"_

_Gale was standing at our doorstep, carrying a large present tied with a pink, polka-dotted ribbon. "This is for you, Catnip," he said, laying the box down on the floor next to Mom. I couldn't see Gale's face. It was too blurry._

_"Gale. HOW DARE YOU!" Mom yelled. "YOU BROKE MY HEART, NOW THIS?"_

_"What? What else can I do?" he begged for mercy. "Oh please, please please forgive me, Catnip." Suddenly, there was a whirlwind and I was in a bridesmaid dress. "Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?" Gale Hawthorne was saying to Mom. "no...No. NO. *NO!*" she bellowed, and threw a knife at Gale._

_"No! GALE NO!" I screamed. "GALE! Gale! Gale? Ryan..."_

I sat up in bed, breathing heavily. I just had the weirdest dream of my life, but who knew that my dreams would lead me closer? Gale called Mom Catnip. What a cute name! But...was it real? I mean, it was only a dream. And...he broke her heart, but why did he break her heart? And how?

I sighed and shook my head, and then I realized that Amore was giving me a weird look.

"Who's _Ryan_?" he smirked. "How many guys do you _dream _about?"

"Shut up, Amore!" I snapped. Oh no. What had I been saying in my sleep? "Go back to bed right now. Or else."

"Or else what? You know, I can tell Mom about your fantasy boy."

"He is NOT my fantasy boy! And you _wouldn't_. Because if you did, I'd tear you apart."

"Oh yeah? Let's see you do that!"

"Look, Amore," I sighed. "I don't want to pick a fight right now. Just don't mention this to _anyone_, and I'll give you five dollars."

"Deal," he said happily. He relaxed, lay back down, and turned around. When I heard him breathing normally, I knew he was asleep. I took my chance.

Quietly, I slipped out of bed and padded my way into the next door, opened the door, and fled our suite. The chilly night (well, morning) wind scratched my face, and I had to put my hands on my cheeks to keep them warm. Interesting weather for June. This time, though, I didn't take any roads to my destination; I followed a quiet, peaceful path and followed it to wherever it would lead...which happened to be the woods.

_A _woods. It wasn't very big; in fact, it was _tiny_. It was just a doughnut-shaped circle of trees with a clearing in the middle. Of course, I walked straight to the clearing and sat down, leaning against a large, smooth stone...and I thought.

Too much had been going on, a thousand things crowded my mind, each one of them banging on my brain. So I thought. I took my time thinking about every little thing that had happened in the last forty-eight hours, and pretty soon, I started to get drowsy, and slowly I drifted off.

"Rose? Rose..." I yawned, stretched, and blinked a couple of times. "RYAN?" I almost yelled. "What are you doing here? What am _I _doing here? What's the time? What...why...how..."

He only looked at me with concern. "I came here five minutes ago, and you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you. But I'm just saying that it's nine in the morning and I can hear a commotion on the floor below ours. I just came out here for...no reason, and I saw you. Does your family know you're out here? Why did you come here?"

Wow. That's the most I've ever heard him say at once. "Uhh..." I sat up, and searched my brain for an answer. "I...uh...came out here because it was too hot inside our room, so I wanted to stay out in the cold, you know..."

"In _this _cold? There must be something bothering you." How the _hell _did he know that?

"Oh no, it's nothing." I narrowed my eyes at him. "And may I ask what _you're _doing out here on this fine day, Mr. Hawthorne?"

"Well..." he sighed. I moved over and made room for him to sit down, and he came and sat next to me. Warmth radiated from his body and I took in the heat, which warmed my frozen body. I wonder how he manages to be so warm.

"You know how my dad told me about how he goes to the woods?" I nodded. "I was bothered by a dream I had last night, so I decided to come out here and you know...try to calm myself down."

"Want to explain the dream?" I asked, and when he shook his head, I knew that I had been hiding too much from him, lying too much to him. I knew that all the truth would have to come out someday, but right now I just wanted to stop lying.

"Last night," I said, looking down, "I had a really weird and awkward dream that had to do with everything that had been going on. So last night, well actually about five hours ago, I came out here to just..._think_. Nothing else, just think about what was going on, and then I fell asleep."

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "Care to tell me what was in your incredibly weird dream?"

"It's okay," I laughed. "You probably don't want to know what it was about."

"Actually, I do," he said, looking down at me. His eyes were a bright, shiny silver.

"Well I'm not telling you," I said, and punched him playfully.

"Okay, _fine_," he gave up. "You should probably go back to your room because I think your parents are worried about you." He got up, and dusted himself off.

"Oh right," I said, remembering my family. "Thanks for waking me up." I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him, and thankfully he held me for a while. His warmth was unimaginable...I just wanted to stay there forever, but I knew I had to go, so I let go, waved, and took off towards my hotel. Ryan seemed sort of surprised, but he smiled and walked the opposite way.

**Thanks for reviews in the last one! Now this one? :D Heh. Gale**


	7. Spilling

**I had LOTSSSSS of caffeine today. So I can WRITE. Eep!**

**Thanks for the reviews in the last one!**

Right now, I was more scared than I had ever been before. My parents had yelled at me many times, for a series of absolutely stupid and irresponsible things I had done, but I had never left in the middle of the night in an unknown District, to an unknown place.

Basically, I was known in District 12 as being a troublemaker and a very sweet girl who got out of everything with her manners.

Yes, I know how to sweet-talk adults so that they forgive me for everything I do wrong, which, trust me, is a _lot_. I've rung the fire alarm at the hall several times, I've skipped school and attended a concert, I've put frog legs inside the lime pudding Mom serves on Amore's birthday...I've done many things, and once I'd turned thirteen, they'd gotten a lot worse than just simple pranks. But none of them had ever given my parents heart attacks. I don't know about this one...it seemed that they were kind of worried.

I really wasn't a bad person, and everyone knew that. I was just fun-loving, a bit _too _fun-loving, and that's where the trouble came in place. I loved a joke, and what I thought was a joke the rest of the world thought was serious. Therefore, I was never taken seriously. When I first told my parents I wanted to play the trumpet, they laughed for five minutes before realizing that I was serious.

Speaking of my parents, I could hear their yelling from outside the hotel. People had already gathered around, looking enquiringly at the top floor. Embarrassed, I looked down, and walked all the way up the stairs, not even bothering to use the elevator.

_Kind of worried _was a huge understatement.

"ROSE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Mom screamed, the second I walked in through the door.

"I was outside, just..."

"Just WHERE?"

"Just sitting out in those woods," I said truthfully.

"Oh, how nice. Did you THINK about telling us? You - "

"Don't expect it from her," my dad interrupted calmly. "If you expect her to be responsible, you've gone mad. Just don't expect it, and you'll never be disappointed. That was something my father had taught me, and I use it a lot."

My mother ignored him. "When did you leave the house?" she said through clenched teeth.

"Like...four? In the morning?"

It was quiet. I could hear my parents and brother breathing heavily.

"I knew she'd left," Amore finally said quietly.

"_What_?" My mom was so enraged, I could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. "You _knew_? And you didn't tell us, either?"

"Well, she woke up talking about some guy in her dreams," he explained. "And then when she thought I was asleep, she just got up and left. Just like that. I didn't know where she was going."

"And you _couldn't _have told us this sooner," Mom said sarcastically. Dad just shook his head in disgust.

Meanwhile, I was fuming because Amore's huge mouth had spilled out the words I had told him NOT to spill. "Amore!" I whispered fiercely. "SHUT UP!"

He put his hand over his mouth and gasped. "Uuuhh..."

"_What? _Anything else you're hiding?" my mom snapped.

"Uh...no," Amore said, but I sighed inwardly because I knew my parents hadn't heard the first part of his comment.

"Rose," Dad said, turning to me, "You are banned from going outside for the next week. You cannot step outside, even to get fresh air. You're going to stay at home and your mother will make sure of that."

My lip trembled. I had done things that I shouldn't have done before, but I had never done something like this, before. I was too foolish to understand that this was indeed a big deal...

All I could do was nod. I mean, it wasn't like I had a choice. However, I make my first smart choice in a long time...I had to confide in someone about everything that was going on. And to do that, I really needed my giant-mouthed brother.

"I'm sorry, Mom, Dad, I promise I will never do something like that again." They just glared at me. I'd tried this too many times.

"Oh okay, all right, I'm speaking the truth. I _swear_. Amore will watch me. Right?" I gave him a pointed look.

He nodded.

Giving us one last look, my mom went back into the kitchen and my dad walked into my parents' room.

"AMORE! Get over here."

Obediently (which is quite unusual), my brother followed me into my room.

"Okay," I sighed. "I have the utmost confidence in you. You'd better not tell anyone _anything_. One word comes out of your mouth, you owe me your allowance for the next three months."

"Okay," he agreed. And so I started explaining the whole story to my nut of a brother.

**Alrighty.**


	8. Telling

**Little bros are so cute. I don't have one, but I wish I did...**

I had to admit, Amore was pretty cool sometimes, like when he listened to everything that was going on in my crazy, muddled life. At the moment. He didn't even interrupt, he listened calmly and watched his older sister break down.

"All right, what's going on?" he asked authoritatively.

"Well...I thought I'd just tell you everything," I said. "First of all, you know Gale, Gale Hawthorne? That man on TV, famous, Mom gets really uncomfortable when he's mentioned?"

Amore nodded.

"Well, he's coming to this District next week, before we leave."

His gaped at me. "That's...very awkward..."

"Totally," I agreed, and then sighed. "But...that's not the whole story." My brother looked at me questioningly.

"Ryan's last name is Hawthorne." It took him a while, but then suddenly lightning struck his brain.

"ROSE," he whispered fiercely, "You mean to tell me that you're in love with Gale's son, Ryan? Your fantasy boy?"

I scowled, but told him, "Well, kinda. I don't know what's going on right now, but I think he's really cute and sweet." I stared off into space, and I don't really know what I was doing. I guess I was smiling stupidly.

"We have to do something about this," Amore said seriously, only making me laugh. "We HAVE to get Mom and Gale to meet! Then they could be friends!" Little boys of twelve can be so adorable sometimes. "Thanks Amore," I grinned and gave him a hug. "You're the best!"

"I know," he said proudly, and ran off. I felt very happy...I knew that Amore would do the job for me. But I wasn't happy enough - I felt like I was missing something, I felt like something wasn't right.

And it wasn't. I wouldn't be able to see Ryan for the next week.

**That. Was. SHORT. So sorry XD The next one will be longer, pwomise! ~Gale**


	9. Mistake

**Damn. Rose is in looooove.**

**And_ I_ am in loooooove with all of you who reviews, favorited, and alerted! Thanks so much!**

It was worse torture than I'd thought. I really didn't know what was wrong with me. Here I knew a guy whose dad was probably not a friend to my mother, I saw him a total of three days, and now I miss him, his smile, and his voice. Sometimes I really hate myself.

Two days passed and I grew tired of reading. Sometimes I would stare out the window and sometimes Amore would come into my room and talk about...stuff. I remember that one day, he walked in, his face completely white.

"What's wrong, Amore?" I asked. "You looked like you just saw a ghost..."

"I _did_." he was breathing heavily.

"Uh, what?" I asked, utterly confused.

"I saw your boyfriend out there. I actually _talked _to him."

"WHAT? And he is NOT my boyfriend! What did he say?" My eyes were wide.

"Well," he said, "I said hi what's your name 'cause, you know, he fit your description, and he said oh I'm Ryan, who are you and I was all like I'm Rose's brother, Amore. And then we started talking and I realized that I was talking to GALE'S son! And so I rushed back home because I was shocked."

"And...you didn't even say 'bye'?" I said incredulously.

"And I didn't even say 'bye'," my brother confirmed.

I slapped my forehead. "Oh well, thanks for talking to him anyways. What did you guys talk about?"

"Oh, not much, I just told him about how you talk about him in your sleep. He turned as red as a beet," he snickered.

I gasped and put a hand over my mouth before erupting. "You...WHAT?"

"I don't think I was supposed to say that," he muttered, and sped out of my room, me chasing him through the suite. "AMORE! GET BACK HERE," I shrieked. "TELL ME WHAT YOU SAID. TELL ME - " I stopped short when I saw my mom looking at me.

"What's wrong, Rose?" she asked hotly. "Ever think about calming down? You're going to wake the whole building up. It's 10 at night."

I sighed. "Yeah, okay, Mom, I'll be quiet."

Mom just nodded, and cradled her head in her hands. It looked like her headaches were getting worse...sometimes at night, about once a week, she'd wake up screaming about Glimmer or Cato, whoever they were. I really wanted to help her, but she was just in a bad mood and washed over with self-pity, so basically she didn't let anyone near her. Ugh.

But right then, I had other problems...like what Amore had supposedly told Ryan Hawthorne. I also had that one problem of making Gale meet up with Mom. How would I do that, and when would I do that? I really needed to get out of this suite, and then I knew what I had to do.

**EEP! -Gale**


	10. Date

**I just read this WOW fax story.**

I sneaked out the door the second my parents were out of the building. They'd trusted me once, and I felt really bad that I constantly took advantage of them like that, but with the current circumstances, I really had no choice. I had to talk to him.

I raced down the stairs and, of course, just my luck...I ran right into Ryan Hawthorne, and I'm not saying it wasn't painful. I crashed into him, and we went flying into the lobby; he tripped and fell and I fell right on top of him. Thank god no one happened to be in the hallway; it was usually very crowded. And I mean so crowded, one can barely move to the elevators or stairs.

That was one of the most awkward moments in my life. I could tell that Ryan was freaked out, by his heavy breathing. I suddenly noticed that I was on top of him and the blood rushed to my cheeks. I quickly got up, silently, and gave him a hand. Thankfully he took it and only smiled.

"I'm so, so, SO sorry, Ryan!" I apologized fervently. "You cannot imagine how sorry I am! Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "I'm good," he said. "You gave me quite a scare there," he admitted.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "I just have to talk to you, really badly!"

"Oh? Spill."

I grabbed his hand and led him out to the back of the hotel, which had a pool and some chairs and tables from a cafe on the inside. I sad down in a chair and he sat down opposite of me.

"So...you met my brother," I stated flatly.

"Yes!" he laughed. "What a character...he's so funny!"

"Yes, yes, character indeed," I rolled my eyes, which made him laugh again. I love that sound. I'd originally thought that he didn't laugh or smile that much, but boy was I wrong. He was about as happy as can be.

"Yeah, I don't really frown that much," he said, reading my thoughts. "Unless I'm really pissed." HOW DOES HE DO THAT?

"I...I've noticed," I murmured, still dumbstruck by his ability. "So what did you guys talk about?"

"Well, he told me about his collection of coins, and how he likes to jump rope outside and steal everything from your room just so that he can watch you get annoyed and yell at him." Ryan grinned. "I can imagine _that_..."

"Hey!" I stuck my tongue out. "Watch it!" And then I remembered what I needed him to say. "Uh...anything else that you guys talked about?"

He turned red. Not a good sign. "Oh, not much else...I don't think..." That told me that Amore had indeed told him about whatever I supposedly did at night, which even _I _had no clue about. I was going to get him for this later.

Just then, a waiter came by and noticed us sitting down. "Anything for the handsome young man or, perhaps, the lovely lady?" he asked. What kind of a hotel _is_this? I thought suites were supposed to have kitchens. Then I realized that the man was talking to _us_, and I blushed deeply. "Uh..we're...not..." I stammered.

"Hey. Order something?" Ryan asked, looking at me, and I finally smiled. Why not?

"Yes, I'll just have a diet Pepsi with ice," I told the waiter, and he looked expectantly at Ryan. "You?"

"Oh, uh, I'll have the same without ice," he replied. After the waiter left, he raised his eyebrows and looked at me. "Why, what a lovely lady," he joked. Or...was he joking? Somewhere in the back of my mind I kind of hoped he wasn't.

"And what a handsome young man," I said. Because two can play at this game. Or was this a game? We both looked away from each other, and I watched the kids playing in the pool for a while before both our thoughts were interrupted by the same waiter. He set down our drinks, and then walked away.

Ryan sipped his Pepsi. I could barely touch mine; I wish I'd ordered it without ice like he had...it was actually pretty cold outside. I wondered how the kids in the pool could even stand to be in there, however warm the poolwater might be. We just sat there silently, until both of us had drained out glasses.

"So, I barely know anything about you," Ryan began, to break the silence.

"That's right, you barely do!" I exclaimed. "I'd better tell you. I live in Ten, and I'm a sophomore. I absolutely adore singing. I think it's so great to stretch your voice; I think it even keeps your voice box clean. I also love to dance, I've performed in functions at my school. At home, well, I have to deal with my pesky little brother who is not always a pesk, though. My parents are...interesting people. They sort of work...somewhere." Well, I didn't want to lie completely like I had about my life, so far. "What about you?"

"Well, I have a pretty boring life. I'm a junior at that academy, and all I ever do is study. Sometimes my friends have a party, but that's pretty much all the life I have. I love to sit out in the forest," he laughed sheepishly, "and write. I write all kinds of stuff, especially poetry. But you probably don't want to read my poetry. It's kind of bad. Anyways, I also play the guitar, and I guess I'm kind of good at it."

"How long have you been playing?" I asked, interested.

"Since I was...like...two," he said, shrugging. I stared at him. "WHAT? You have to play for me someday, Ryan. I really want to hear you play. You must be a musical genius or something!" I said incredulously.

"Pshh, no, there are better people," he said. I wanted to slap him.

"Anything interesting in your life?" he asked me.

Then my lying began.

"So...Ryan..." I started, and immediately felt terrible. I really didn't want to do this, yet I _did_. I just had this horrible feeling every time I lied to him, like it would come back to me and hurt me later. Like karma. I didn't want to hurt him, either.

He turned to me. "Yeah?"

"Well, I told my mom about you..." I gulped. This was hard. "And, well, your dad, and she's pretty amazed. She'd really like to meet him because she thinks he's smart." And then I remembered I'd told him that I don't watch much TV. "I mean, when she's seen him on TV. We don't watch much..."

"That's not a problem," he said. "I'll just ask him to call sometime and your family can drop by or something. We probably need each others' room numbers then." I nodded and we exchanged room numbers, and then got up. "Well, that was nice..." he trailed off. I laughed, just to break the awkwardness of the whole situation. "I thought it was kind of fun," I said truthfully. We started walking back towards the stairs, and I was relieved to notice that my parents' car was not in the parking lot yet.

"Maybe we can do this again," he suggested, and then clamped his mouth shut, realizing what he'd just said.

It took everything to stifle my laughter. What was so funny? He'd taken the words right out of my mouth. At least it was him who had to get embarrassed, and not me. Killing Amore was still number one on my list.

"Here," he said quickly, changing the subject, "How about the day after tomorrow, after he comes home, I'll send him to your room just for a few minutes? I mean, I don't think he'd mind..."

I knew everything was solved right then. Well, almost everything. "You'd _do _that? Oh thank you so much Ryan, you don't know what this means to me!" I said excitedly, and then threw my arms around him and kissed him. It was so sudden, even I didn't realize what I was doing. His arms went around me, and he kissed me back. I don't think either of us knew what we were doing, because when I pulled back all of a sudden, he did too, and shock had already registered on both of our faces. Ryan coughed.

"I..." I could barely speak. "I - I have to go." Turning around, I sprinted up the stairs, ran through the door, and slammed it shut, breathing hard.

And I smiled just a little.

**BLESSMAHHEART, THEY KISSED! I didn't expect that! But that's weird cuz I'm the one writing it...O_O whoas.**

**Ok ok ok ok, reviews are much loved! -Gale**


	11. Fight

**Holy lordbuckles. He's here.**

Every hour, every minute, every second seemed to be a dream from then. That is, until the knock on the door the next day, at seven in the evening. My heart stopped; I knew it would be Gale Hawthorne. Quickly I looked through the peephole and then realized with a start that it was Ryan on the other side, not Gale. That just made my heart beat even faster.

I ran behind the door to the room Amore and I were sharing. I heard Mom open the door, and her sharp intake of breath told me that she recognized someone when she looked at Ryan. Nope, Katniss Everdeen-Mellark had certainly not forgotten Gale Hawthorne.

And then I realized that Ryan would probably know that he was looking straight at the Mockingjay. Maybe...maybe he would think that he'd come to the wrong door, and maybe he'd turn around and apologize and leave. Just maybe.

I peered out of the crack between the door and the wall, and noticed that Ryan didn't look very happy. In face, he looked downright mad. I wanted my life to end right then and right there.

"Is Rosalyn Mellark home?" he asked stiffly.

Oh shit.

"As a matter of fact, she _is_," Mom answered in the same tone. "May I know who you are?"

"I don't think it matters anymore," he said, his voice softening. "I just need to talk to your daughter, right now."

For some reason, my mother nodded and let him in. Normally she would chase him away, knowing her, but I knew that it was something about how he reminded her of Gale that forced her to let him in.

"ROSE?" she called. I knew this was coming, and I knew this would have been unavoidable, anyway. So I mustered up all the strength and the courage I had, and walked over to Ryan Hawthorne. "Oh hi, Ryan! Is there something you need?" I asked innocently.

"I need to talk to you at this instant, and I know you're not busy, whatever excuse you come up with," he told me coolly. I turned crimson red...I knew he was referring to the amount of times I had lied to him. So I complied and followed him into my room. I shut the door and opened my mouth.

"Ryan, you cannot imagine how sorry - "

"Forget it," he snapped. I looked at him in surprise. I really didn't imagine him to be _this _angry.

"Oh, you didn't think I'd be so mad, huh?" he said coldly, reading my mind once again. "Imagine this, Rose. Imagine if you met a boy, and you fell for him, and then you found out that all he'd ever told you was a lie just because of some stupid family history. Would you be just a tiny bit hurt at that?"

I guess I understood how he'd felt, then. I'd known all along that he'd be hurt, yet I'd been stupid and I'd constantly lied, lied, and LIED.

"Look, the reason I didn't want to tell you my last name was because...well...I just thought that it would cause, you know, awkwardness between us, and I really didn't want that to happen, so that's why...I didn't tell you I was Katniss's daughter. Because, well, it didn't seem that your dad and my mom really were best friends or anything, so I just wanted to be safe." There. I'd said it.

"So you think I wouldn't have talked to you because you're Katniss's daughter?" he raised his eyebrows.

"No, I didn't mean it that way..." I tried to explain, but he interrupted me again. "Did you not talk to me because I'm Gale's son? Did it hurt you to have a conversation with me without remembering idiotic things that had happened with our _parents _in years past?"

I sighed, and looked down. What he said was completely true. It was _me _who'd been the real idiot in the last few days. "Ryan," my voice shook, and I tried my hardest to conceal the pain I felt. "I thought you would be...like...a..."

"What, an ordinary, normal guy? Why yes, that would be me. I would have _yelled _at you if you'd told me that you were Katniss's daughter because I really care that you're related to someone my dad never mentions," he said sarcastically.

"Well, I didn't want to be just taken and get my heart broken just like Gale happened to do to my mom!" I could hear my voice rise. "Look, I did this because I didn't want us to get off to the wrong start! Was it really that stupid?" _Yes, it was, Rose, _I heard my conscience tell me. _It was very stupid._

"Oh, so that's who you think I am, what kind of a person you think I am," he said, pain audible in his voice. I felt the worst I could ever feel right then. "Fine then," he said, before I could open my mouth to contradict his statement, "you can go on and imagine that nothing had ever happened, and we had never met. Because we don't deserve to know each other because of our last names and our history. And by the way, my dad didn't break your mom's heart. He left his old district because he couldn't bear to face her again. Because she hated him." He sighed. "I don't even know why you'd do this, Rose. I thought you were different."

"I did it because I felt something for you," I whispered, and then hoped he didn't hear me.

"What was that? Oh, I probably shouldn't find out anyway. It might just have been a lie like the rest of everything you told me."

But it wasn't.

"Well, I might see you again, Rose, and I might not. But for now I'll be leaving. Bye." With that, he turned around and walked off, through the doorway and right out the suite door, Mom gazing at first him, then me in astonishment. She opened her mouth to ask me something but I just closed the door to my room, sat on the floor, and let the many tears I'd held inside flow.

**Dayuuuum, Ryan has a temper.**

**Gale**


	12. Aftermath

**Hmmmmmm. Thanks for the reviews, etc.!**

Thankfully, my family left me alone in my (well, _our_) room for a while. Not even Amore came in, and I was relieved; I needed some time to think alone. First of all, I wish I'd never even started this whole stupid cheesy feelings crap, I wish I hadn't walked out of my hospital room. I never would have met Ryan, and I never would have hurt him like I did.

I wish I hadn't acted like a total...UGH when I'd first met him, and I wish I hadn't gone out to talk to him yesterday. But mostly, I wish I hadn't kissed him. That had broken an invisible barrier between us, which ruined the friendship that we'd only started to have.

All I'd done from the beginning was lie about _everything _in my life. Well, almost everything...I told him the truth about the small things that didn't matter. I'd lied about who I _was_, and I only felt like a jerk after he'd left.

Finally Amore came in, holding a plate with meatloaf and broccoli. "Hey, was it that bad?" he asked me. I nodded, tears threatening to spill out once again, and took the plate from him. He came and sat down on the floor next to me. "So what happened?"

I sniffled, angry at myself for being such a wimp. "Not much. He just told me he'd figured it all out, and that he won't believe anything I say anymore, or at least something like that."

"Does that mean...Gale's not coming?" Amore whispered.

That's right, if Ryan was mad at me, Gale wasn't going to come the next day because he'd probably not even bother mentioning _me _to Gale. Why my mother, then? I wouldn't blame Ryan if he didn't, either. He'd probably also figured out that I'd only _used _him to find out more about Gale and to bring him to make him talk to Mom. I wanted to go down to his room and apologize but I knew he'd just ignore me if I knocked on the door.

"No, Amore, I bet he's not," I sighed. "Ryan probably won't tell him anything."

Amore looked so disheartened that I felt really bad for him. "Don't worry, we'll find some way to make them meet, if I have to, I'll go and talk to him myself," I assured him, and gave him a hug. I wasn't very happy with the outcome either.

The rest of the night passed by, and the next day passed slowly. All I did was read depressing romance novels from my stack of books, and blow my nose on Kleenex, all day, all afternoon. Sometimes Amore came by to give me food. My parents came in to talk to me once, but they knew that I was in a bad mood so they left me alone most of the time, for which I was gracious.

At five in the afternoon I suddenly started feeling especially bad. Amore came in to talk to me, and then said sadly, "This is when Gale was supposed to come." I only nodded, not wanting to think about it anymore. "I'm going to go there," Amore said, determined, and I tensed up and was about to tell him not to go down to Ryan's room. Right on cue, the doorbell rang.

Before my mom could come out of her room, I dashed to the door and looked through the peephole to see who it was, and my blood froze.

So Ryan had sent Gale Hawthorne after all.

**EEP! Can't wait to write more! xoxo**


	13. Shock

**Ooooh shit. 13's unlucky...**

_Before my mom could come out of her room, I dashed to the door and looked through the peephole to see who it was, and my blood froze._

_So Ryan had sent Gale Hawthorne after all._

!*!*!*!

The first things I felt were shock and joy. The next things I felt were guilt and crappishness. Why would Ryan do this for me, after what I'd done to him? He'd just made me feel even worse than I'd already been. All I was from the beginning was a sop, and now my life had just gotten _even _more complicated.

But back to Gale Hawthorne, who was standing outside our door, and quite a spitting image of his son. Or should I say his son's a spitting image of him...

I just walked back into my room yelling at my mom to get the door. She groaned and walked up to the door and opened it without even looking through the peephole to check who it was.

The expression on her face was...well, complicated. It also made me wonder if I did the right thing, telling Ryan to bring Gale here. There were many, many different things that had registered on her face: bewilderment, betrayal, anger, sadness, confusion. I'd say that from here Gale looked exactly the same, as if he didn't know whose room he was coming to.

Wait...he _didn't _know. Heh.

"Was that...your son here a little earlier?" Mom said quietly.

Gale only looked even more incredulous. "Wait...what was my son doing here? What am _I _doing here? Wait, I didn't mean it like that...I meant...I knew I was coming to someone's room but I didn't know it was..._yours_..." he stammered.

"I don't know," Mom said hotly, and then softened. "Well...now that you're here...I guess you could come in...?" This sounded more like a question to me.

"It's okay, I'm fine here," he said, nodding at me. "Looks like your daughter and my son set a little something up." That was when Mom noticed me, and I left after she glared at me and I hid behind the door to my room.

"Er...I'll have to talk to Rose later," my mother said. Crap. "So...how is your life in District 2?"

"It's fine. 2 is quite a place...but I missed District 12 a lot," he admitted.

"Even after all these years?"

"Even after all these years."

"Well..." Mom paused. "What do you miss about it?" she seemed to be hesitant to ask him this.

"Well, I miss getting food and trading at the Hob, I miss coming home to my family, I miss almost everything about it," Gale said sadly. "And I miss...hunting with you on Sundays. I go to the forest sometimes, but I haven't killed an animal since..." he trailed off.

"Yeah, I get it," Mom said quickly. "I understand. Me too."

Gale shifted in his spot.

"What made you leave?" Mom whispered, and I could see the hurt on her face clearly, even though I knew she was trying to hide it.

When Gale spoke, his voice was of pain and anguish. "Since...since I did that one regrettable thing in my life, I didn't think you'd want to see me again. We'd...grown apart. I left because, well, I knew you wouldn't want to look at me again. So I decided to start over. But what had happened - before - had never really escaped my mind." Not too long, clear, and straightforward; just what my mother liked to hear.

Mom nodded.

"I'm sorry," Gale looked down. "I don't know what I was thinking. I shouldn't have done what I did."

"It's...it's okay," Mom seemed to assure him, almost. "It's not all your fault. I was, well, not the best friend I could have been while you were pressured like that. I'm sorry, too."

Gale just shrugged. "It's fine. So," he changed the subject, "Are you, you know, married to Peeta?"

Did I just see my mom bite her lip? Somebody's guilty...

"Yeah," she said abruptly. "More than twenty years ago. That's how long we haven't seen each other." she added. She seemed to be trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"I figured," he said. A ghost of a smile formed on his face. "It's fine, Katniss, I'm glad you chose Peeta. You're happy, right?"

Mom seemed relieved. "Yeah," she said, and took a deep breath. "How about you?"

"I'm married too, as you can probably tell from my son."

"What's her name?" Mom asked, and it looked like she was debating whether to.

"Chloe," **(teehee!) **Gale replied, and Mom smiled one of her rare smiles that I'd never seen her use on anyone except me...when she was happy with me. Which was not very common. "Well, that's great," she said, and she looked genuinely happy for him.

"Yeah," he grinned fully now. "I married her...just a couple months before you married Peeta."

"Gale," Katniss sighed, "I've actually missed you these many years. I see you on TV from time to time, but still..."

"I've missed you too, Catnip," he said quietly. So my dream had been true! "Even though we've been...distant for a while, do you think we could be friends again?" he asked this with a hopeful look on his face.

"Yes," my mom said, and let out the breath she was holding. "Yes, I think we can, Gale."

There was a slight moment where both of them locked eyes, and then they were in each other's arms, hugging tightly, not wanting to let go. They both looked relieved and I could tell that both of them felt warm on the inside, and that whatever was bothering them for years had stopped.

Heck, even I felt like jumping up and down, behind the door. Maybe Mom wouldn't be so angsty anymore, now that one problem in her life had been solved!

However, it wasn't time to celebrate because Dad happened to walk out of the bathroom right that second.

**CLIFFHANGER! Haha just kidding sorry I felt like doing that just to annoy my readers(; Here it's still going on...**

"Katniss?" he asked, squinting at the person she was hugging. Then the shock hit his face. "_Gale__?_" he asked, confused as ever. "When did you get here?"

Mom and Gale pulled apart at that instant. "Uh...oh hi, Peeta! Long time no see. I got here a few minutes ago."

"I see." Dad didn't look particularly happy, but he didn't look angry or anything either. "How's life up in 2?" he asked casually, shifting from foot to foot. I knew he was nervous, but he felt he had to say something anyway.

"It's good," Gale said tersely. "How are you?"

"Fine," he said, putting a protective arm around Mom. I felt awkward when my parents were like that in public. My mom didn't object, however. She wrapped an arm around his waist. "So why don't you come in, Gale?" she asked.

"Okay," he hesitated, but stepped in. Boy was he tall. Clearing six feet, I think. I didn't even have to be there the rest of the hour Gale stayed, sitting there and talking to my parents like they were old friends. Even the ice broke a little between him and my dad, I think.

"Well THAT was AWESOME!" Amore whispered excitedly from next to me, and I jumped a foot in the area. "AMORE!" I almost yelled. "When did you get here?"

"From when Mom opened the door to Gale? Duh!" he rolled his eyes, but I was in too good of a mood to care that he'd scared me, so I ruffled his hair while he shrieked out in annoyance.

One more thing had been fixed, but thoughts of Ryan were still clawing my mind all night, so I couldn't get any sleep.

**Ok NOW it ends. YAY! Gale is a hottie. Even though he's like 40 here haha**


	14. Courage

**Katniss may just be cool.**

It was bothering me. The fight we had was the only thing I could think of, all day and all night. Once the happiness of Gale and Mom reuniting wore off, all I wanted to do was tear and my hair and yell and cry. Even though I _am _a drama queen, no, I kept my emotions under control.

That evening, after Gale left, Mom came into my room to talk to me. I braced myself for an erupting volcano, but surprisingly, she only seemed a little bit annoyed with me. I was glad she came to talk to me while she was still happy about Gale.

She came and sat on the foot of my bed and I put down the book I was reading. "Hey, Mom."

"Rose..." she sighed. "Why did you do this? I have to thank you for trying to hard to get us to be friends again, but what would have happened if I was feeling annoyed and hadn't forgiven him easily? What would have happened if he was mad at me, and had just left without saying anything? Please, Rose, next time you try something reckless like this just warn me. But I have to admit that it made me feel a lot better, so thank you, thank you very much."

I grinned. "I knew you'd be happy, Mom," and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry too," I said after a moment. "I should have told you I was doing this, but I was just too curious about who this guy was. I thought maybe you'd stop me from telling him to come here."

"Well, I probably would have," she admitted, and both of us laughed.

"So. Ryan. Tell me about him," Mom said, raising her eyebrows.

My throat started closing up again, and tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. Stupid feelings. "He's...no one," I managed to get out of my mouth. "He's a person whose life I ruined by lying to him," I whispered. "And then to pay me back he only sent his dad to our room, which was the nicest thing someone can possibly do to a person who broke his heart."

"Rose," my mom said softly, "It's time I told you...when I was your age, I broke two peoples' hearts, constantly, at the same time."

"What?" I said, gaping. "How...who were they?"

"Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark," Mom replied, which made me even more amazed. "You see, after I went off to the Hunger Games, Dad admitted his love for me and I...you know...kissed him a few times. It didn't mean anything at first, but then once I felt something for him. And then at the end I told him it was all fake, and he got...mad. At me. And the feelings between us were all cold. Meanwhile, I came back and Gale kissed me in the woods and I don't know if I felt something because I was unsure. And then Peeta and I became friends again and Gale got whipped...I was shocked because he was my best friend, my confidant. And I kissed him. Later, Gale told me he loved me and then...it became all complicated...and then Gale did something that killed Prim and I couldn't look at him again, and he left because of that. And then I told your dad I loved him. So I broke Gale's heart at the end but now I'm glad he's okay."

I was astonished and glad to hear the whole story at last. "Well thanks for telling me, Mom," I said. "You didn't have to hold it in for so long. But now I guess I understand how you felt...so what should I do?"

"I think you should go and and make up with him immediately, and solve whatever problems you have, Rose. Don't let it wait decades like I did."

"He's not going to listen to me," I sighed. "He probably won't even open the door to me. I've done and said too many bad things for him to even just forgive him like that..."

"You _did _do something good for me," my mom told me, and I looked at her in confusion. "Rose," she explained, "You made his dad feel a lot better than he probably was feeling! That's a huge gift you gave him! Maybe things in his family are on a much higher note, now."

The spark went off in my brain. "OH! I get it! Mom, you're brilliant! Thank you! I'm going to go up there at this second!" I yelled, and rushed out the door, slamming it shut behind me.

After I got out the door, however, I paused. The anxiety levels in my body had suddenly reached their all-time high. I didn't know if I had the courage to do this. But I started walking up the stairs, anyway. An ignored apology is better than no apology at all.

**Yep yep! Reviews are loved!**


	15. Dream

**Oh my gosh. You guys...your reviews make me cry. Thanks so much. It really means a lot.**

As I walked down the stairs, my feet felt like lead. Every step I took felt like a 2000 lb slab of rock was slamming it down on the ground. I was shaking even though the weather was strangely warm. Warm and cold. That's how I was feeling.

I looked at my hand, and saw the number 249 written in red. It was fading slowly because of the amount my hand was sweating. Gross it might sound, but it's true...I sweat a _lot _when I'm worried. Right now I really wanted to take a shower before walking in to meet Ryan.

I walked down the hallway, turning my head right and left to look for the right room numbers. Deep in my heart I hoped that there would be no number 249, but I knew that it was impossible; I was just too scared to apologize. To the guy I like. After shattering his heart into itty bitty pieces.

My heart stopped. THERE WAS NO ROOM 249. Frantically I looked back and forth, running through the hallway from one end to the other, and I finally just fell to my knees in defeat. And then I realized...I was on the wrong floor. Whoops! I'd gone down an extra floor by accident.

Well in one way it was a disappointment. I'd have to talk to Ryan now because there was probably a room 249 somewhere on the right floor. I walked up the stairs and 249 was right there, in my line of sight. Perfect.

Knocking on the door just made my heart rate go from 120 to 260 billion. Any more pressure, and I would have fainted right there on the spot, being the drama queen I am. The door opened and I saw Ryan look at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Yes?" he asked. He didn't even know me anymore.

I took a deep breath. "Ryan...I know you probably will never forgive me for what I did, but I'm extremely, extremely sorry and I just want to let you know that what you did for me, how you sent Gale down to our room, is just such an amazing and noble thing to do. It also made me feel 400 times worse about what I did to you, which was bad enough. I completely understand if my apology doesn't make up for the stupid, reckless and _deceitful _things I did , but I just want you to know that I am truly sorry and I..." I didn't know what else to say; my throat was closing up like Mom's did when she was upset, and I didn't want to cry. Not in front of Ryan.

"I didn't mean to say all those things I'd said about you; I know you're not that type of a guy. You're just the nicest person I've ever seen on this Earth...I'm really not kidding. I mean, you don't even have a noticeable flaw. I cannot believe that you actually really REALLY sent Gale down to our room because...I didn't even imagine that you'd be able to just forget our problems for a moment and help me. There wouldn't be a soul in this universe I know that would do something like that for me, again." I took a breath.

His gaze softened a little, and I took my last chance to apologize before I broke down.

"I did nothing, absolutely nothing for you," I choked out. "All you ever did was help me and be the sweetest person as can be possible in this world and I was just a lying pain in the - "

"It's okay, it's okay." He wrapped me in his arms and I felt warm and safe, and like a fool. I tried my hardest not to cry but sniffles escaped from me, anyway. I wonder how Ryan keeps his feelings under control so much.

When we broke apart, he said something that made my day. "Rose, you _did _do good things for me, even if you're not aware of it. You made my dad a much happier person than he was, and...well..." he bit his lip. "You made _me_ a happier person, too. I loved every...well...almost every moment I spent with you. Your bubbly personality and everything just brightened my mood. I usually don't enjoy my visits to 4 that much but you made it a thousand times better than usual. So thank you."

With that, he bent down and kissed me. I was surprised, yes, but my happiness and love overcame all of that and I kissed him back and held him tightly. I was relieved and thankful and I felt like I was in a dream that would never end.

**AAAAAHHHHHH! THEY KISSED AGAIN! Reviews are loved. Gale**


	16. Dinner

**THANKS for the reviews, alerting, & favoriting! :D**

I ran back to my room and my mom saw me with a huge grin on my face and hugged me tightly. When she pulled back, she had an interesting look on her face.

"Rose? Is that _Axe _I smell on you?"

"Nope!" I said happily, and then skipped, yes, SKIPPED back to the room I shared with Amore. It's amazing what kissing someone can do to your brain and your sanity. I opened the door, slammed it shut, and sat on my bed, staring out into space.

Amore came in and saw my face.

"HI, Amore!" I said with extreme enthusiasm, and he left the room with a scared look on his face. I heard him ask Mom what was wrong with me. Well, it was the happiest day of my LIFE. That's what was wrong with me.

*next day*

I woke up the next morning not to the smell Mom toasting bread, not to the touch of my dad dumping clothes on me, not to the sound of Amore singing in the shower, but to thoughts of Ryan that crowded the back of my mind.

The phone in our room rang, and Amore burst out of the bathroom in his towel. "I CALL TALKING TO THE ROOM SERVICE LADY," he yelled, and the rest of us rolled our eyes.

"Yes?" he asked sweetly into the phone, and crinkled up his nose. "Rose, it's your _boyfriend_. Eew." I laughed and took the phone that he held out for me with his nose pinched tightly between his fingers. How typical of a twelve-year-old boy.

"Hello?"

"Hi Rose," Ryan said from the other end of the phone. The amazing beautifulness and clarity of his deep voice made me shiver.

"Hey, Ryan," I said casually, even though my heart had reached maximum speed.

"So, I was wondering...if you were free this afternoon?" he asked, sounding hopeful. Was I free? Of _course _I was free! If I wasn't free, I would do anything to _make_myself free just for this afternoon!

"Let me make sure I have no plans," I told him in the calmest voice possible, and walked up to my mom. "We're not doing anything this afternoon, are we?" I asked in a voice that she'd be scared to say something bad to. I don't like being forceful, but this is one thing she couldn't possibly say yes to.

"I guess not, Rose. What - " she started.

"Awesome! Gotta go! Thanks Mom love you!" I sped back to the phone and picked it up with clammy hands. "Yes I'm free."

"All right, that's good," he said. "I was wondering if...you wanted to...uh...get something to eat, later? Around six?"

My heart beat right of my chest. "Why yes, I'd love to!" I said ecstatically.

"Okay, I'll be at your room at six." I could tell he was smiling because of his voice.

"Great!" I wonder if he could tell I was smiling, too. I put down the phone and nearly screamed...I'd been asked out by the one person I'd fallen for. This was like a dream come true. If I hadn't fainted that day during my performance, I wondered if this would have ever happened.

Minutes turned to hours as I waited for Ryan, sitting next to the door all day. Mom and Dad tried to get me to pack some of my clothes up but I refused to work...I wanted to enjoy myself just for one day. Finally, the doorbell rang and I jumped up in excitement. Unfortunately, my hands were clammy from just a little bit of anxiousness.

Mom gave me an encouraging nod and I mouthed "bye" at her once before turning towards the door, taking a deep breath, and opening it. Ryan was on the other side, of course, gorgeous as ever in his jeans and maroon shirt. I nervously fingered my skirt, and smiled at him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

He offered me his hand, and I took it and shut the door behind me. We started walking out the hotel door when I asked, "So, where are we going to eat?"

"I don't know," he paused. "Where do you want to go?" We were out of the hotel, standing in front of the street while cars flew back and forth. Lights shone everywhere, and I couldn't help being reminded of District 2 on TV.

I laughed. "You don't even know where we're going? Okay...how about that place over there?" I pointed to a Chinese restaurant on the side of the road.

"Off to the Chinese restaurant, then," he said, and we crossed the street, holding tightly on to each other, and entered the building. A cute, bald short man guided us to a table for two, and Ryan pulled a chair out for me. What a gentleman.

He sat on the other side and we ordered two sodas without ice. I think I'd learned my lesson by then...never drink anything cold in District 4.

"So," Ryan said. "What's up?"

"Not much. I like that shirt of yours. Where did you get it?" I asked.

"Oh, just at some mall in 7, I think. I don't really go shopping that much. In fact, I never have time to go unless one of my friends drags me there."

"Really?" I was surprised. "_Never_? I live my life there. Well, apart from when I have to do homework."

"I can tell," he grinned. "I mean, you have an amazing sense of style."

"I do?" I was flattered. "Why, thank you! Yeah, my friends dress the same so I'm never really rated on my clothes. I just go to the mall because shopping is one of my...let's just say...bad habits. My mom's sick of driving me there, so I've been going less lately. You don't have a terrible style yourself!"

"Psshh," he said. "We have to wear _uniforms _at our school. I don't like it very much, but it saves me a lot of trips to the mall."

"True that," I agreed. I couldn't help thinking that he'd look wonderful in his school uniform, too. "At home I wear nothing special...especially because I spend most of my weekdays outside, reading on this giant rock next to a stream that runs past our house."

"You're lucky you have a stream, and a house," Ryan sighed. "I barely ever see anything other than dorm rooms and classrooms these days. District 4 was a great break from all that school."

"Well, I had a lot of fun here with you," I said.

"I'm so glad I met you," he replied. How sweet. I stared into his dark, intense eyes until the waiter came, cleared his throat, and asked what we would like to eat. I ordered my usual chow mein, and Ryan ordered fried rice.

"That's my favorite food," he told me. "Fried rice. My dad eats it all the time, you know. After he comes back from the forest every day - "

"Wait, wait, wait." I interrupted him. "_Every _day?"

"Yes, every day," he repeated. "Remember? I told you he goes there to spend time. I have no clue what he does there by himself. I went to join him there once and we went fishing in the stream next to it."

"Fun," I commented. _Every day? That must get boring..._"Do you know, now, what happened?" I dared to introduce the topic I was most afraid of talking about. "Did he tell you what had happened between him and my mom? _And _my dad?"

"Yeah," he said sadly. "I know everything, but I think it's best we forget about it and just pay attention to the present. What happened in the past is the past. There's nothing we can do to change it."

I just nodded...there was no argument to that. I shouldn't have even brought it up. We ate the rest of the meal quickly, talking about little things here and there and finally both of us stood up.

"You shouldn't have paid the bill, Ryan," I scolded him. "You've already done too much for me. I thought maybe I'd pay..."

"No more," Ryan shushed me. When he shushes you, you just can't say anything else. It's not possible...you're mentally blocked.

"Rose," he looked at me seriously. Oh no. "I just wanted to say...I had a tremendous amount of fun with you this week and hopefully I will, more, but I'm leaving tomorrow. I don't know when you're leaving, but I guess not soon. My dad's going back to 2, and my break's ending, which means I have to head to 7 for school again. I'll miss you like anything," he told me.

It hit me like a lightning bolt. Of course Ryan wouldn't stay here in 4 forever, and neither would we. We'd go back to our own districts, that were hundreds of miles apart, and live life normally. Without each other. I was going to leave in two days, anyway, but one more day with him would have been fine.

"Don't leave," I whispered, and threw my arms around him. I hugged him so tightly, I think I squeezed the breath out of him. We stood there for a long time, and when we pulled apart, we kissed and I got this strange feeling of hunger...hunger for more. We stayed right there, outside the restaurant, against the wall for hours, days, years.

Finally, he pulled back, gave me one last squeeze, and told me that we should head home. Right, I was supposed to be back by 10. So we walked back, arm in arm, not wanting to let go.

**That was pretty long for me...haha XD -Gale**


	17. Timeless

**OMG. Last chapter. I'm soooo sad. D:**

Everyone knew that something was wrong the second I walked through the door. Ryan had walked me up to my room, and I just couldn't open my hand and loosen the clutch I had on his arm. I'm sure I'd bruised it somehow.

Mom was packing, and Dad was helping take out some of the clothes from the closet. Amore was just reading, but I knew my parents were thankful that he wasn't causing trouble or anything.

"Rose, come and help us," Mom called out. I had an urge to just walk straight to my room and pretend I was PMSing, but I decided to just let it go. Ryan was going to leave, and I'd never see him again, but that doesn't mean I'd stop living life.

So I agreed and went over to Mom and started folding clothes.

*the next morning*

"Rose, wake up," Amore was shaking me. "Rose, we have to keep packing...we're leaving today, right after lunch! Grandma's gotten a not-so-great injury, and Mom has to go back to take care of her!"

"What?" I froze in shock. "Grandma got hurt? What happened?" No. She was my favorite grandma.

"She...ah...sort of fell down the stairs, and her hip's broken. They're considering bringing her here, but Mom said that she knows how to take care of broken bones. She said she dealt with it a lot in the Hunger Games, and after that."

"She did?" I wondered out loud. "Well if it means taking care of Grandma, by all means I'll get up." So I jumped out of bed, and the second my feet touched the floorthere was a knock at our door.

Of course, he had to come the second I wasn't prepared for it. But what could I do? I went up to the door with my old cross country t-shirt and my gym shorts and tangled hair, popped a breath mint into my mouth, and opened the door.

As I'd guessed, it was Ryan, fully dressed and it looked like he was all ready to leave. He just looked at me a moment, and nothing registered on his face. He didn't care if I looked like I just came from a dump...he loved me just the way I was.

"I just wanted to come say bye," and he said it with such an amazing voice filled with melancholy...I almost fainted right there on the spot.

I felt my eyes fill up with tears, tears I managed to hold back. "I'll miss you too, you can't imagine how much I'm going to miss you," I tried to stay calm, but my voice cracked and I broke down and sobbed. Stupid emotions. He enveloped me in his warmth and I stayed there for a long time, forever, I think, until he let me go and looked at me with those beautiful eyes.

"Rose, I just wanted to let you know that I have some good news."

"What?" I sniffled, wiping my eyes on my sleeve, still pressed up close against him.

"You know how I play guitar?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I play for a band, and we were sort of famous in the first few district, like 1, 2, 3, and 4. And then the Capitol found out about us and they were very impressed, so they're letting us go free to District 12 to rehearse with your best singers, once a week. For the Capitol Olympics, I mean." That's right, the Capitol Olympics were supposed to take place next summer.

"So I'll see you once a week," he concluded. "I mean, District 7 is only a couple hundred miles away. It's half an hour by jet."

I was just overcome with happiness and glee and I hugged him again. "You should have told me about that before I made myself look like a fool in front of you," I smirked, but I laughed anyway. Everything was perfect. Well, almost.

"You'd never look like a fool in front of me," he said. Now that just made my day.

"But...what are you going to do after a year is over?" I asked him.

He just shrugged. "I'm applying for All District University," he told me. Of course...I forgot that being brilliant, he would apply for the best school in the country, All District, in District 11. Right next to District 12.

"Oh that's right," I rolled my eyes. "Smartass."

"Hey!" he said indignantly, and I smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm just kidding. You can't imagine how happy I am right now."

"I can imagine," he grinned, and looking at it lit up my world. So I did the only thing that would make me feel even better than I was feeling right now - I stood on tiptoe and pressed my lips against his, and he held me forever. We stood there longer than eternity, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable looks from my parents and very disgusted looks from Amore, and when I pulled back, I stared into his deep eyes.

They were

Timeless.

**Okay, there's the last chappy! *sniffle* I just have to say, I had a LOT of fun writing this story, and I'm so glad that all of you liked it. :D I'm very, very, very, VERY thankful to those of you who commented, especially my most frequent commenter, junbug24! She commented on EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER and told me whether it was good/needed improvement/whatever else. I also have to add a side note and thank Lotsliveson4eva for the amazing huuuuuge paragraph suggesting how to write the G./K. chappy! so THANK YOU to EVERYONE ELSE who reviewed! AND THANK YOU to ALL the people who favorited me, my story, or alerted me and my story! I GREATLY appreciate it! :D**

**By the way, if you want to read more, I'm working on two other stories right now, one is a series of letters from Max to Fang in Unread Letters and the other one is an absolutely ridiculous yet hilarious (well, according to my friends) Harry Potter story, Voldemort's Birthday Bash. I just started writing Unread Letters, and Voldemort's Birthday Bash is about three-fourths of the way done. :D So if you like Maximum Ride and Harry Potter, plss consider reading and reviewing those! :D**

**Lots of love! And keep in touch! :D**

**Gale**


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